Rotary printing-press.



H. F. BECHMAN.

ROTARY PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22. 1915.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

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H. F. BECHMAN.

ROTARY PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2Z. 1915.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

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LQQQWIQD June-n fo'c jHoInn H. F. BECHMAN. ROTARY PRINTING PRESS.

APPLlCATiON FILED APR. 22. I915.

Patented Sept. l1, 1917.

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HENRY F. BECHMAN, BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO DUPLEX PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

ROTARY PRINTING-PRESS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. BnoinrAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Printing-Presses; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

y present'invention is an improvement upon the machine shown in my application for rotary printing press (Case, 5,225) filed March 26, 1915, Serial No. 17,195; and the object of the present invention is to enable such a machine to deliver a greater variety of papers by providing means whereby additional webs may be supplied to the machine from printing mechanisms located at the sidesthereof adjacent the folders and at right angles to the main printing mechanisms.

To more readilyimpart a clear understanding of the invention I will explain same in connection with'tlie accompanying drawings which illustrate diagrammatically a press embodying the invention; and will enable the invention to be readily under stood by those skilled in the art and utilized with various constructions of printing units and folders.

. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatical plan view of a press embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a'diagrammatic side elevation of Fig. 1 with the near side printing mechanism removed.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic end elevation of the press looking toward the folder.

The press shown is approximately T- shaped in plan, and in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 has in the stem or main body of the machine three transversely disposed printing mechanisms, three folders and an intermediate series of angle bars" or deflectors; and in the side arms or Wings of the machine are other printing mechanisms, which preferably have their cyli ders disposed at right angles to the cyhnd rs 1n the printing mechanisms in the stem of the machine; said side printing mechanisms being preferably arranged at opposite ends of the series of-angle bars, and the webs from the side printing mechanisms can be led into Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 22, 1915.

Patented Sept. 11., 191?.

Serial No. 22,998.

the press and directed to the folders with the webs coming from the printing mechanisms in the stem of the machine.

The press illustrated has two decks of printing mechanisms in the main stem of the machine. Each deck preferably contains three printing mechanisms A, 13, each of which printing mechanisms may be of any desired kind but preferably consists of plate cylinders 1, 1 and co-acting impression cylinders 2, 2. Preferably the plate cylinders are adapted to carry single page tubular-plates such as shown in my Reissue Patent No. 13.129, dated July 12. 1910. Each plate e \'liuder is also provided with. suitable inking mechanisms of any desired Lind, indicated at 3, 8 in l igs. 2 and 3, adapted to supply ink to the printing sun faces on the cylinders in the usual manner.

The printing mechanisms A and ii Fig. 1) are preferably arranged in axial alinement transversely of the press, or line of travel of their webs; and preferably the gearing for driving the cylinders in said mechanisms is arranged at the inner ends thereof, as indicated in Fig. 2. The printing mechanism C is preferably located intermediate the mechanisms A and B, and may be arranged in substantially the same plane as mechanisms A and B, but to one side of said mechanisms, as shown in Fig. so that the cylinders in mechanism (l practically lie intermediate the cylinders in mechanisms A and I3. This arrangement of printing mechanisms enables themeehanism C to print the central. portion of zfwide web while the side portions of such web are respectively printed by the mechanisms A and B. Preferably I use a roll of web as wide'as the total number of side by side plates on the printing mechanisms A, B. C in a deck.

The mechanisms A, B. C in each deck are preferably so disposed that when all said mechanism are used a full width web can be printed in passing through the press from the web roll to the folders without any lateral deflection of any portion of the web. For this purpose the printing mechanisms A, B, C are so disposed that when they are fully plated all the web can be printed (see Fig. 1) with only the proper margins between adjacent impressions.

In practice a web may he led over suitable guides from a web roll W at the end of the.

stem to a roller 4 where it is preferably slit longitudinally by slitters, as S (Fig; 2) of ordinary construction, into three portions w, 10 10 The side portions 10 and Q03 of the web may be directed over a guide 4 to the printing mechanisms A and B respectively; while the central portion 10 of the web may be directed over guides 4 and 4 to the printing mechanism C. After being printed by mechanisms A and B the parts 10 and 10 of the web may be directed under guides 4, 4? beneath the printing mechanisms and led to foldersa, b at the rear end of the press; and the part 10 of the web after being printed by mechanism C may be similarly directed under guide al and led to a folder a at the rear end of the press.

Three folding mechanisms a, Z), 0 may be arranged in line with the printing mechanisms A, B, C respectively as indicated in Fig. 1. These folders may be of any well known type. With such an arrangement of folders the web a: can be led direct from mechanism A to the folder a; the web 20' can be led from mechanism B to the folder I); and the web 10 from mechanism C to the folder c; and when so led each printed web can pass straight to its folder without any lateral deflection.

Between the printing mechanisms A, B, C and the folders a, b, 0 may be arranged angle bars 5, 5*, 5 and 6 6 6 The web section w instead of passing direct to folder 6 can be deflected over angle bars 5 5 to the folder c; or it may be led past angle bar 5 to angle bar 5 over which itcan be turned and led to .the folder a. Similarly the web section w printedby mechanism C can be turned over angle bars 6, 6 and directed to the folder 6; or web section w can be turned over angle bars 5 and 5 and di rected to folder a. Similarly the Web section printed by mechanism A, can be turned over angle bars 6 and 6 and directed to the folder 0;. or turned over angle bars 6, 6 and led to folder I). x

As thus far described the press is substantially similar to what is shown and described in my application aforesaid; but in the present case I have shown only two decks of printing mechanisms in the main stem of the press.

One objectof the present invention is to enhance the-page capacity of such a press without unduly increasing its height and I therefore provide auxiliary printing mechanisms D and E in the arms or wings of the main frame ateach side of the stem of the press or line of travel of the webs w, 'w w Each printing mechanism D and E comperfecting mechanisms are superposed di-' rectly one above the other in set D at one side of the press,-and three like printing mechanisms are superposed in set E at the other side of the press' The number of printing mechanisms D and E at each side of the press can be varied according to the additional page capacity desired. F or a press having a single deck of printing mechanisms A, B,- C'one printing mechanism in D and one in E might suffice.

Each printing mechanism in D and E is preferably adapted to print a two page wide web. A web (see Fig. 3) maybe led in from a roll over suitable guides 4 4 to and between the plate and impression cylinders in one of the printing mechanisms in D and thence past guide 4 ,to onerof a set of angle bars 7", 7 7 over which such web can be led and directed to the folder a, Z) or 0 respec-. tively. If D contains more than one, printing mechanism, as indicated in the drawings, the webs printed by the other printing mechanisms can be similarly directed therethrough and to the folders by a similar arrangement of web guides and deflectors as indicated in the drawings. A web can be supplied from a roll and led over guides 4 4 to and between the plate and impression cylinders in one of the printing mechanisms in E and thence over guides 4, 4 to any one of a set of angle bars or deflectors 8, 8", 8 over which it can be turned and directed to the folder a, b or a respectively.-

I prefer to provide a set of web guides and angle bars for each printing mechanism in D and E, so that any web printed in any mechanism in D or E can be directed to any folder a, b, c. 4

It will be observed that in this press the webs are printed by means of short cylinders which will not springor jump when operated at high speed, and this enables the press to be operated at a much higher speed than would be practical if long cylinders and inking rollers were employed, especially where using tubular plates; and in the latter case the construction described greatly facilitates plating up and making ready of the press. I k x The several printing; and folding mecha- 'nisms may be synchrdnously operated by any suitable arrangement of driving mechanisms, not shown, such being well known from the drivin means so that it can be put into or out of operative condition as desired.

When only small papers are desired one or more of the printing mechanisms and folders may be put out of operation; or in case of 1n ury to any prlnting mechanism such 1n ured mechanism can be put out of nism A, B, C

operation by the usual means of slipping or declutching the gear connecting such mechanism with the driving means.

Additional folders might be employed if desired, and additional angle bars provided if desired according to the capacity of the press, the location in which it is to be used and the number of papers which it is desired to have simultaneously delivered from the press.

Fig. 3 also indicates how webs after receiving their first fold in one folder might be directed to an adjacent folder as more fully explained in my Patent No. 854,142 of May 21, 1907. I

It is obvious that the page capacity of the press can be increased by lengthening the cylinders, or by providing additional printing mechanisms. When additional decks are used it is desirable to provide additional sets of angle bars as above described, but it is not necessary to duplicate the folders, as additional decks are usually added only when papers having more pages are desired.

Obviously all the printing mechanisms need not have the same lengths of cylinders or all have the same total page capacity. If however each plate cylinder in each mechais'two pages in length the width of the stem of such press wouldbe six plates wide, and web rolls six pages wide can be used to supply the mechanisms in the stem of the press; and web rolls two pages wide to supply the side printing mechanisms in the arms of the press.

I have not attempted to set forth all the kinds and sizes of papers which can be produced by such a machine as its capability for variety of products will be readily understood by pressmen.

-What I claim is: y

1. In a rotary printingpress, the combination of a plurality of rotary printing mechanisms having their cylindersin axial parallelism, said printing mechanisms being located in different parallel planes and adapted to simultaneously print narrow webs or portions of a single wide web, means for slitting a wide web prior. to printing, and folding mechanism; with a printing mechanism at one side of the path of the web from the first printing mechanisms, and

means for directing the webs from the side printing mechanism to the folding mechanism.

2. In a rotary printing press, the combination of three rotary printing mechanisms having their cylinders in axial parallelism, the central printing mechanisms being located in a plane beside the other printing mechanisms and parallel thereto; and means for folding the webs; with a printing mechanism at the side of the three printing mechanisms and having its cylinders at right angles to the cylinders in the three printing mechanisms, and means for directing web from the side mechanism to the folding means.

3. In a rotary printing press, the combination of three rotary printing mechanisms having their cylinders in axial parallelism, the central printing mechanisms being located in a plane beside the other printing mechanisms and parallel thereto; said printing mechanisms being adapted to print narrow webs or portionsof a wide web; means for slitting a wide web, and means for folding the Webs; with a printing mechanism at the side of the three printing mechanisms and having its cylinders at right angles to the cylinders in the three printing mechanisms, and. means for directing web from the side mechanism to the foldmg means.

4. In a rotary pr1nt1ng press, the combination of three rotary printing mechanisms wide web without lateral deflection of such;

web means for slitting a wide web prior to printing; and means for folding the printed webs; with printing mechanisms located at opposite sides of the path of the webs passing from the three printing mechanisms to the folders and having their cylinders at right angles to the cylinders in the three printing mechanisms; and means for directing webs from the side printing mechanisms to the folders.

5. ha printing press, the combination of three rotary printing mechanisms arranged in substantially the same horizontal plane, the plate cylinders in said mechanisms being adapted to carry single page tubular plates; two of such printing mechanisms being separated but in substantial axial alinement, and the other printing mechanism being arranged between and to one side of the other two printing mechanisms but in axial parallelism therewith; with printing mechanisms at opposite sides of the three printing mechanisms and having their cylinders at right angles to the cylinders in the three printing mechanisms, and means for foldparallelism therewith; with a folding mechanism in line with each printing mechanism adapted to fold the web printed by such mechanism without lateral deflection thereof, and web guides and angle bars whereby the web printed by any mechanism may be led to any folder. 7

7 In a printing press, the combination of three rotary printing mechanisms arranged in substantially the same horizontal plane, the plate cylinders in said mechanisms being adapted to carry single page tubular plates; two of such printing mechanisms being separated but in substantial axial alinement, and the other printing mechanism being arranged between and to one side of the other two printing mechanisms but in axial parallelism therewith; and a folding mechanism in line with each printing mechanism adapted to fold the Web printed by such mechanism Without lateral deflection thereof; with printing mechanisms at opposite sides of the three printing mechanisms and having their cylinders at right angles to the cylinders in the three printing mechanisms, and web guides and angle bars whereby the web printed by any mechanism may be led to any folder.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY F. BEGI-IMAN. Witnesses:

IRVING K. STONE, CHARLES A. GRAMES. 

